1890.] History of Garden Vegetables. 727 
SQUASH, PUMPKIN, AND GOURD. 
The Squash. 
The word squash seems to have been derived from the Ameri- 
can aborigines, and in particular from those tribes occupying the 
northeastern Atlantic coast, and seems to have been originally 
applied to the summer squash, as by Wood, when he says, “ In 
summer, when their corn is speht, zsguotusquashes is their best bread ; 
a fruit much like a pumpkin.” Roger Williams ® writes the 
word « Askutasquash, —their vine apples —which the English, 
from them call sguashes ; about the bigness of apples of several 
colors." Josselyn™ gives also a new form to the word, writing 
“Squashes, but more truly squoutersquashes, a kind of mellon 
or rather gourd; for they sometimes degenerate into gourds. 
Some of these are green; some yellow; some longish, like a 
gourd; others round, like an apple; all of them pleasant food, 
boyled and buttered, and seasoned with spice. But the yellow 
squash—called an apple squash (because like an apple), and 
about the bigness of a pome water—is the best kind." This 
apple squash, by name at least, as also by the description so far 
as applicable, is even now known to culture, but is rarely grown 
on account of its small size" Van der Donck, after speaking of 
the pumpkins of New Netherlands (1642-53), adds, “ The natives 
have another species of this vegetable peculiar to themselves, 
called by our people guaasiens, a name derived from the abo- 
rigines, as the plant was not known to us before our intercourse 
with them. It is a delightful fruit, as well to the eye on account 
of its fine variety of colors, as to the mouth for its agreeable 
taste. . . It is gathered early in summer, and when it is 
Slanted i in the middle of April, the fruit is fit for eating by the 
first of June. They do not wait for it to ripen before making 
use of the fruit, but only until it has attained a certain size. They’ 
gather the squashes, and immediately place them on the fire 
without any further trouble." " In 1683 Worlidge" uses the 
68 Wood. _ New Eng. Prosp., Pt. II., c. 6. 
89. 
"l Burr, Field and Gard. Veg., 1863, 207. 
72 Quoted from A. Gray, Am. Jour. of Sci., ze 1883, p. 377- 
73 Systema Horticulture, by4J. W. Gent, p. 2 
